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NHS Commits To Major Transformation Of Mental Health Care With Help For A Million More People

NHS-England-logoThe NHS in England has comitted to the biggest transformation of mental health care across the NHS in a generation, pledging to help more than a million extra people and investing more than a billion pounds a year by 2020/21.

It is making the move in response to the final report of an independent taskforce, chaired by the Chief Executive of Mind Paul Farmer, set up by the NHS as part of its Five Year Forward View to build consensus on how to improve services for people of all ages.

The taskforce gives a frank assessment of the state of current mental health care across the NHS, highlighting that one in four people will experience a mental health problem in their lifetime and the cost of mental ill health to the economy, NHS and society is £105bn a year.

In a wide ranging package of recommendations, it proposes a three-pronged approach to improving care through prevention, the expansion of mental health care such as seven day access in a crisis, and integrated physical and mental health care.

The taskforce suggests, and the NHS accepts, investing over £1bn a year of additional funding in NHS care by 2020/21 to reach one million more people – this investment is in addition to the previously announced new funding for children, young people and perinatal care.

The report says:

  • In recent years there has been a significant expansion in access to psychological therapies, yet only 15% of people who need it currently get care. More action is also needed to help people with anxiety and depression to find or keep a job, as well as to ensure that people with long-term conditions have their physical and mental health care needs met.

By 2020, new funding should increase access to evidence-based psychological therapies to reach 25% of need, helping 600,000 more people access care. Combined with investing to double the reach of Individual Placement and Support for people with severe mental illness, this should support a total of 29,000 more people to find / stay in work each year by 2020.

  • People with mental health problems receive poorer physical health care, and those living with severe mental illness at risk of dying on average 15-20 years earlier than the general population. They are three times more likely to attend A&E and almost five times more likely to be admitted as an emergency.

By 2020, at least 280,000 more people living with severe mental health problems should have improved support for their physical health.

  • Between 2013/14 and 2014/15 the number of referrals to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services increased five times faster than the growth of the workforce in these services.

The £1.4bn (over five years) committed for children and young people’s (CYP) mental health should be invested to ensure that by 2020 at least 70,000 more children and young people have access to high quality care. The Taskforce endorses the recommendations in the Future in Mind report in 2015.

  • At present only half of the country offers a 24/7 community-based mental health crisis service.

 

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